Started in
November 2010, daily postings from the Keystone State Education Coalition now
reach more than 4050 Pennsylvania education policymakers – school directors,
administrators, legislators, legislative and congressional staffers, Governor's
staff, current/former PA Secretaries of Education, superintendents, school solicitors,
principals, charter school leaders, PTO/PTA officers, parent advocates, teacher
leaders, business leaders, faith-based organizations, labor organizations,
education professors, members of the press and a broad array of P-16 regulatory
agencies, professional associations and education advocacy organizations via
emails, website, Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and LinkedIn.
These daily
emails are archived and searchable at http://keystonestateeducationcoalition.org
Follow us on Twitter at @lfeinberg
If any of your colleagues would like to be added to the
email list please have them send their name, title and affiliation to KeystoneStateEdCoalition@gmail.com
State College Area SD students will have their first
“snow day” of the school year on Friday as educators monitor COVID-19 data in
the surrounding community
Why are cyber
charter tuition rates the same as brick and mortar tuition?
Taxpayers in Senator Tom Killion’s school districts paid over $17 million in 2018-2019 cyber charter
tuition. Statewide, PA taxpayers paid
over $600 million for cyber charter tuition in 2018-2019.
|
Chester-Upland SD
|
$7,862,258.12
|
|
Chichester SD
|
$1,448,856.02
|
|
Garnet Valley SD
|
$478,945.45
|
|
Kennett Consolidated SD
|
$1,038,532.60
|
|
Penn-Delco SD
|
$820,756.92
|
|
Ridley SD
|
$744,523.98
|
|
Rose Tree Media SD
|
$814,161.50
|
|
Unionville-Chadds Ford SD
|
$734,074.82
|
|
Wallingford-Swarthmore SD
|
$435,777.25
|
|
West Chester Area SD
|
$2,641,779.90
|
|
|
$17,019,666.56
|
Data Source: PDE
via PSBA
With deadline approaching, here’s how Pa. counties are
doing with their Census response rates | Thursday Morning Coffee
PA Capital Star By John L. Micek September
3, 2020
Good Thursday Morning, Fellow Seekers.
As we’ve mentioned before, the U.S. Census is a very big deal, indeed. The
decennial head count of everyone living in the United States impacts everything
from federal assistance to the states to representation on Capitol Hill. So,
with the count set to end on September 30, the Pennsylvania State
Data Center has an update on how the Keystone State’s
67 counties are faring in that effort. As of Aug. 27,
the counties with the highest response rates were: Bucks (77.0
percent), Chester (76.4 percent), Lancaster (76.4 percent), Montgomery (76.1
percent), and Cumberland County (75.7 percent), according to the Data Center. In
2010, the counties with the highest response rates included Cumberland (77.3
percent), Lancaster (77.2 percent), York (76.9 percent), Adams (76.7 percent),
and Northampton County (76.5 percent), data showed. While Lehigh County
has done well with Census response, some of the region’s biggest cities are
still lagging, the Morning Call reported
this week. “I’m really disappointed about the
low participation across the city,” Allentown City Council member Julio
Guridy told the newspaper. “We need to do something dramatic fast
in order to not lose so much money over the next decade.”
Philly students head back to class, virtually; education
leaders demand more funding
Inquirer by Kristen A. Graham, Posted: September
2, 2020- 12:53 PM
Despite its being the first day of school,
there were no students inside Lowell Elementary on Wednesday, and without
significant federal help, it will be difficult to safely bring them back this
year, local, state and national leaders said outside the redbrick building. Officials
including Mayor Jim Kenney and American Federation of Teachers president Randi
Weingarten took aim at President Donald Trump and Senate leaders who have
failed to pass the Heroes Act, a COVID-19 relief package that would send billions
to cities and school systems like Philadelphia’s, which opened, fully virtual,
Wednesday. “This is clearly not a typical first day of school for anyone,”
Kenney said. “Under normal circumstances, we’d be in school buildings, greeting
students and teachers, we’d be celebrating all the promise a new school year
brings. Had the White House led a competent national pandemic response under
the direction of medical experts, we might very well be in a different position
today. But here we are.” As classes began for 125,000 kids across the district
Wednesday, teachers, students and parents reported some first-day glitches, but
enthusiasm at the beginning of the 2020-21 term.
School opens in Philadelphia amid ‘Day of Action’
Chalkbeat Philly By Dale Mezzacappa Sep
2, 2020, 7:41pm EDT
On the first day of the school year in
Philadelphia, an array of city, state, and teacher union officials excoriated
the Senate and President Donald Trump for blocking a House-passed federal
rescue plan that would pump billions of federal dollars into education to help
districts deal with the coronavirus pandemic. The speakers, including American
Federation of Teachers president Randi Weingarten, were participating in
a Nationwide Day of Action for Safe Schools, which
included events across the country. They said the failure to pass the HEROES
act, which was approved by the Democratic-led House in May, most adversely
affects school districts like Philadelphia, where most of the students are
Black and brown. “Let me say unequivocally that... Black children matter, and
the reality is that we have gotten a very clear message from our U.S.
Senate...that Black lives and Black children’s lives don’t matter,” said Bishop
Dwayne Royster, director of the faith-based advocacy group POWER. The HEROES
act would pump $58 billion into school districts, with some $2 billion coming
to Pennsylvania for K-12 education. The Senate has proposed a smaller aid
package with corporate tax breaks and other provisions opposed by Democrats, resulting
in a legislative stalemate.
With Philly teachers in contract fight, leaders press
feds for more K-12 virus aid
WHYY By Avi
Wolfman-Arent September
2, 2020
With a tense labor negotiation as backdrop,
local and national teachers union leaders held a press conference in
Philadelphia Wednesday to press for more federal coronavirus relief.
Randi Weingarten, president of the American
Federation of Teachers, joined Jerry Jordan, head of the Philadelphia
Federation of Teachers (PFT) and a cavalcade of local politicians outside James
Lowell Elementary School in Olney. Democrats and union leaders say the extra
aid is necessary to stave off financial disaster for school districts and allow
officials to purchase the items needed to reopen classrooms while reducing the
risk of viral spread. “[We’re] not just fighting for more funding for schools
to fix them up. It’s bigger than that. We’re fighting to save the American
dream,” said U.S. Rep. Brendan Boyle (D-Philadelphia), who attended Lowell as a
child and whose mother worked as a crossing guard at the school.
Political Cartoon: Back to the one-room schoolhouse
Inquirer by Signe
Wilkinson Posted: September
3, 2020 - 5:04 AM
Virtual learning turns out to be virtual hell
for parents who are stuck home helping “teach” their kids while “concentrating”
on their own virtual “work” at the next laptop over. In the good old days,
parents could send their kids off to one-room schoolhouses to learn their ABCs.
It turns out parents are now the teachers in their own one-room schoolhouses
taking over their dining room tables, living room sofas, or kitchen counters,
as my colleague Maria Panaritis described
with exasperation oozing from every sentence. Parents who have to work outside
the home have it even worse, juggling which relative, friend, or neighbor they
can lean on for help. Kids with wealthier parents are in one-room school “pods”
sharing a teacher, at a few daring local charters, or parked in private schools that
are fully opening. If life were equitable, every child
would be there with them.
Gov. Wolf eases guidelines on spectators at high school
sporting events
Delco Times By Mike
Drago mdrago@readingeagle.com @MDrago59 on Twitter September
3, 2020
Gov. Tom Wolf has eased his restriction on
spectators for high school sports, but it remains to be seen how effective the
change will be in accommodating parents and other fans. Wolf agreed Tuesday to
amend COVID-19 guidelines and allow spectators to attend high school contests
but only within established parameters for gatherings – 25 for indoor
events and 250 for outdoor events. Spectators are now included within those
figures; they previously were not allowed to attend. The PIAA last week urged
the governor to expand those parameters, requesting in a letter that gyms and
stadiums be allowed to permit 25 percent of capacity. Wolf did not agree to
that, leaving high school athletic administrators in a quandary. For indoor
sports played in the fall, girls volleyball and water polo, the 25-person limit
would easily be exceeded by players, coaches and officials. Schools are making
plans to have some reserve players stationed outside gyms and pools, and that
doesn't sit well with the PIAA or schools.
Guidance for All Sports Permitted to Operate During the
COVID-19 Disaster Emergency to Ensure the Safety and Health of Employees,
Athletes and the Public
Governor Wolf’s Website Issued
June 10, 2020, last updated September 2, 2020
Intent: The virus that
causes the Coronavirus 2019 Disease (“COVID-19”) is easily
transmitted, especially in group settings, and it is essential that the spread
of the virus be slowed to safeguard public health and safety. COVID-19 can be
transmitted from infected individuals even if they are asymptomatic or their
symptoms are mild, such as a cough. It can also be spread by touching a surface
or object that has the virus on it and then touching your mouth, nose or
eyes. This guidance document addresses
the procedures sports organizations and teams must follow to
limit the spread of COVID-19 to the extent they are
permitted to conduct in-person operations.
This guidance will be updated as more public
health data and other information is available.
Revenue Department Releases August 2020 Collections
PA Pressroom 09/01/2020
Harrisburg, PA — Pennsylvania
collected $2.5 billion in General Fund revenue in August, which was $209
million, or 8.9 percent, more than anticipated, Revenue Secretary Dan Hassell
reported today. Fiscal year-to-date General Fund collections total $6.7
billion, which is $210.3 million, or 3.3 percent, above estimate. The
Department of Revenue estimates that approximately $187 million of the revenue
collected in August can be attributed to extending the due date to August 14,
2020 for corporations that had annual corporate net income tax payments due in
April, May, June or July. “August revenue collections show us that we’re still
seeing the effects of extending tax deadlines to provide relief to Pennsylvania
taxpayers during the COVID-19 pandemic. Those extensions included moving back
the deadline for corporate taxpayers to file their returns and make their
annual payments,” Secretary Hassell said. “We will continue to keep a close eye
on revenue collections so that the Governor and members of the General Assembly
have the most up-to-date information possible in the coming months.”
Latest Pa. GOP attempt to strip Gov. Tom Wolf of his
coronavirus emergency powers fails
Inquirer by Cynthia Fernandez, Posted: September
2, 2020- 5:51 PM
Spotlight
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newsroom powered by The Philadelphia Inquirer in partnership with PennLive/The
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HARRISBURG — The latest Republican attempt to
curtail Gov. Tom Wolf’s emergency powers failed Wednesday, as GOP lawmakers in
the state House did not garner enough Democratic support to end the state’s
coronavirus disaster declaration. The hour-long debate culminated in the
unsuccessful vote to override Wolf’s veto of a resolution that would force him
to end the order, which the governor renewed this week. While Republicans
argued that the state’s case count and hospitalization rate have fallen to a
level that should allow businesses, including bars and restaurants, to open at
full capacity, the Wolf administration has repeatedly said ending the
declaration would not lift those restrictions. Democrats also argued that the
threat of the coronavirus is still imminent, and new cases and outbreaks are
being reported daily. On Wednesday, the Department of Health reported an
additional 816 additional cases of COVID-19.
Nine Democrats voted with all Republicans in
favor of overriding the veto. But supporters failed to meet the higher bar
needed to succeed — two-thirds of members, or 136 votes.
“Both bills now go to the Senate for consideration.”
Pa. House passes pandemic-related school bills, including
one that guarantees school boards have the power to decide whether to hold
sports
Penn Live By Jan
Murphy | jmurphy@pennlive.com Updated
Sep 02, 2020; Posted Sep 02, 2020
The Pennsylvania House of Representatives
wants to guarantee school boards that they hold the power to decide whether to
allow sports and extracurricular activities to occur this school year and
whether spectators can attend. The House on Wednesday passed House Bill 2787 ,
sponsored by Rep. Mike Reese, R-Westmoreland County, by a bipartisan 155-47
vote that would school boards with the assurance that they have that authority,
not the governor. A separate school-related bill, House Bill 2788, sponsored
by Rep. Jesse Topper, R-Bedford County, passed by a 197-5 vote that would allow
parents to request their public or private school student repeat a grade if
they felt there was educational loss last year or this year due to the
interruptions in in-person learning prompted by the COVID-19 pandemic.
This Pa. Senate race is a rare political beauty | John
Baer
By John Baer | For PennLive Today
5:30 AM
It’s a race to watch. Even as down-ballot
contests aren’t getting attention. Even amid COVID-19, when campaigns can’t
press the flesh, and going door-to-door seems unwise. It’s happening as
Pennsylvanians no longer can vote a straight-ticket -- something insiders in
both parties are jittery about. And as worry persists over mail-in voting. Yet
the race in the 15th state Senate District, covering Perry County and most of
Dauphin County, including Harrisburg, is maybe the best undercard contest in
the state; a rare bit of politics filled with the promise of high-end
performance. And since it’s key to Democratic hopes (I’d say optimistic hopes)
of flipping four Senate seats to grab control of the chamber, it’s certain to
be spirited. It features first-term incumbent Republican Sen. John DiSanto and
Democratic challenger George Scott. Two strong candidates familiar with tight,
tough races.
How Black students are becoming empowered in the Lehigh
Valley’s largest, mostly white schools
By KAYLA DWYER and MICHELLE MERLIN THE MORNING
CALL | SEP 02, 2020 AT 8:13 AM
A comment Parkland junior Demi Olatilo often
hears from her white peers is that she’s an “Oreo”: black on the outside and
white on the inside. They tell her, a Black student, that she “sounds white.” In
middle school, she would laugh it off. Even though her classmates were always
predominantly white, she never thought of herself as being different or
marginalized. That changed when she joined Parkland’s new African American
Cultural Club last fall, where she compared notes with her Black peers. Through
their conversations, she began to realize that comments like “Oreo” had racist
origins. And, together, they felt empowered to stand against those types of
comments. “Now I realize how harmful those things are, how truly insulting they
are,” she said. For Black students who make up less than 5% of the population
at the Lehigh Valley’s two largest, mostly white suburban public school
districts, Parkland and East Penn, speaking up has never been easy. They battle
a majority mindset that makes microaggressions mainstream — often unconsciously
— and a curriculum that gives greater weight to white hands in history. Nor
have they felt their voices being sought out. Until now.
As school begins, local officials offer guidance on
sports, PPE, special ed and more
West Chester Daily Local by Fran
Maye fmaye@21st-centurymedia.com September
3, 2020
CHADDS FORD — When will students be back in
the classroom, what is the financial impact of providing protective equipment
to students and teachers, will students be tested for coronavirus when they
return to school, why are private and Catholic schools opening for in-person
instruction when public schools are not, and what will the high school sports
season look like this fall? Those were just some of the questions asked
Tuesday night in a Tele-Town Hall, sponsored by state Sen. Tom Killion, in
which nearly 3,000 people participated. Providing answers were George Fiore,
executive director of the Chester County Intermediate Unit, Michael Barber,
chairman of the PIAA's District One and assistant superintendent in the Kennett
Consolidated School District, and Marc Bertrando, superintendent of the Garnet
Valley School District.
Killion, R-9th, of Middletown, said that
although officials in every school district in Chester and Delaware counties
are permitted to make their own decision on whether to offer in-person
instruction, and whether to play fall sports, most of the decisions have been
guided by recommendations of Gov. Tom Wolf and officials at the Chester County
Department of Health. Those recommendations have been that schools should start
the year virtually, and sports programs should be postponed.
State College students to stay home Friday as
administrators monitor community COVID-19 data
Centre Daily Times BY
MARLEY PARISH SEPTEMBER 03, 2020 01:04 AM
State College students
will have their first “snow day” of the school year on Friday as educators
monitor COVID-19 data in the surrounding community. The State
College Area School District board of directors met
virtually Wednesday to reevaluate closure protocols outlined in its reopening
plan. After 108 new coronavirus
cases were reported in district boundaries over
the past week, officials had to consider making a switch to district-wide
remote learning per health guidelines. With no confirmed cases among district
students or staff, officials were hesitant to make the change and close
facilities. But on Friday, students will stay home as educators monitor data
and consider how long the closure will last — following a 5-4 vote, with board
members Daniel Duffy, Scott Fozard, David Hutchinson and Jim Leous voting
against the motion. Though the majority of new coronavirus cases reported in
Centre County have been connected to Penn State students and their return to
campus for in-person learning, board members wanted to balance safety and avoid
potential community outbreaks in the district. Penn State students who test
positive are put in isolation, while those who are probable cases or awaiting
results quarantine. According to the health and safety plan, district officials
must consider closing schools once 50-75 case numbers are reported in district
ZIP codes over a one-week period. But with more information and research months
into the pandemic, educators said the “conservative” plan might not be the best
guide to make decisions.
Back to class: Which school districts in York County have
reported COVID-19 cases?
Teresa Boeckel York Daily
Record September 2, 2020
Several districts have reported coronavirus
cases as the new school year kicks off.
South Western School
District in the Hanover area has reported
three cases of the virus. Its buildings are closed for a week, and virtual
instruction is being given. School districts with positive COVID-19
cases have been in touch with the state Department of Health and have
notified anyone who had contact.
Here is a list of which districts have
reported cases:
Spring-Ford furloughs 42 workers as schools will be
closed for online learning
Pottstown Mercury by Evan Brandt ebrandt@21st-centurymedia.com
@PottstownNews on Twitter September 3, 2020
ROYERSFORD — The Spring-Ford Area School
Board followed in the footsteps of other area school districts and voted 5-4
Monday to furlough 42 workers. Voting no were Vice President Tom DiBello and
board members Clinton Jackson, David Shafer and Margaret Wright. The furlough
affects primarily food workers, who have no work because students are starting
the year by learning online from home due to health concerns regarding the
coronavirus pandemic, said Superintendent David Goodin. Many only work a few
hours a day, he said. "Nobody at this table wants to furlough anybody, but
we're a point where that may not be realistic," said board member
Christina Melton. Board member Margaret Wright said the board has a
"responsibility to the taxpayers to not be carrying employees who don't
have meaningful work."
Erie district aims to stop busing private high schoolers
The Erie School District will continue to bus
nonpublic elementary and middle school students while the district’s students
are enrolled in online-only instruction in September and October.
GoErie By Ed
Palattella @etnpalattella Posted
Sep 2, 2020 at 9:22 PM Updated at 5:09 AM
Erie School District will still bus nonpublic
K-8 students despite changes due to district students learning online-only. The
Erie School District is leaning toward limiting the number of nonpublic
students it buses while those students attend in-person classes and district
students learn solely online during the pandemic. The Erie School Board is
considering a proposal that would save the district about $15,000 to $20,000 a
month by stopping its payments to the Erie Metropolitan Transit Authority to
bus high school students who attend in-person classes at nonpublic schools. The
district will continue to use its yellow buses to transport nonpublic students
in kindergarten through eighth grade. The change would require about 230
nonpublic high school students to pay their own way to ride EMTA buses for as
long as the change is in place, based on district figures from 2019-20. Those
students attend Cathedral Preparatory School, Villa Maria Academy and
Mercyhurst Preparatory School, the school district said. The cost to the
district for providing the vouchers in 2020-21 would be $3.10 a day per
student, the district said. The district said 161 nonpublic students in
kindergarten through eighth grade rode district-operated yellow buses in
2019-20. The district is still compiling the numbers for 2020-21. The Erie
School District is no longer obligated to pay for busing for nonpublic students
as long as district students are enrolled in online-only classes, the district
said. The change does not apply to charter schools and nonpublic special
education students. The district must continue to bus them or pay for their
busing under the law.
Blogger note: connecting the dots… Students First PAC school
privatization advocate and GOP megadonor Jeff Yass also serves on the board of
the Cato Institute.
Pa. must fund students, not school districts | Opinion
Corey DeAngelis, For The Inquirer Posted: September
2, 2020 - 9:00 AM
Corey DeAngelis is the director of school
choice at Reason Foundation and an adjunct scholar at Cato Institute. He is
also the executive director at Educational Freedom Institute.
Families are in need of educational options
now more than ever as we deal with the coronavirus pandemic. Seventeen of the
20 largest school districts in the country, including the School District of
Philadelphia, have chosen to begin this school year without offering an
in-person learning option for students. Although remote learning may prove
suitable for some families, others may strongly prefer in-person instruction
for various educational and child-care needs. The only way to truly address the
diverse needs of families during the pandemic — and beyond — is for
Pennsylvania to fund students, rather
than school districts, directly. This is exactly how we fund many other
taxpayer-funded initiatives, including Pell Grants for higher education and
prekindergarten programs. For these programs, funding goes to families who can
then choose from a wide array of public or private providers of the service.
The same goes for food stamps. In these scenarios, the power is rightly in the
hands of families rather than institutions.
$30 million campus to replace asbestos-contaminated North
Philadelphia school
WHYY By Catalina
Jaramillo September
3, 2020
A state-of-the-art campus is on track to
replace a North Philadelphia elementary school building shuttered in 2019 after
teachers and parents rang alarm bells over damaged asbestos and flaking lead
paint. Plans for the modern new campus for T.M. Peirce Elementary School, a K-6
school in North Philadelphia were conceptually approved on Wednesday by the
Philadelphia Art Commission. The new building will rise on the West Cambria
Street property where a red-brick, four-story box of a school has sat since
1909 without any green space. Blackney Hayes Architects have designed a more
inviting and highly efficient three-story building with plenty of open areas
that include a brand new playground with porous surfaces to manage stormwater,
trees, and a mural. “This is a school for 21st-century learning, a school where
education is happening in a contemporary way for the students of this community,”
said Kevin Blackney, a founding partner of Blackney Hayes Architects, during
his presentation to the commission.
PSBA testifies on cost savings, improved efficiencies for
school districts
POSTED ON SEPTEMBER 2,
2020 IN PSBA
NEWS
This week, PSBA President Eric Wolfgang
presented testimony to the House Democratic Policy Committee regarding cost
savings and improved efficiency for school districts. Wolfgang emphasized
PSBA’s call for various specific solutions, including legislation that would
create broad, permanent relief from mandates that consume much of district
budgets and stifle innovation. The association is working with Senator
Langerholc to introduce Senate Bill 1286. Another helpful solution is to
address the antiquated law which only allows advertising/public notice
requirements to be fulfilled by publishing in printed newspapers, by
providing districts with a flexible menu of print and online options to use in
complying with advertising/public notice requirements. PSBA has worked with
Representative Ortitay to introduce House Bill 2743 and Senator DiSanto to
introduce SB 1222. Click here to
read PSBA’s testimony.
“This post is an open letter to Biden and DeVos from Chris
Reykdal, the Washington state superintendent of public instruction, offering 10
steps that Reykdal said would help set a foundation for a more equitable school
system.”
An open letter to Biden and Harris: 10 steps to undo the
damage Betsy DeVos did to public education
Washington Post By Valerie Strauss Reporter September
3, 2020 at 6:00 a.m. EDT
If Joe Biden becomes president, you can
expect an overhaul of U.S. education policy.
For nearly 3½ years, President Trump and
Education Secretary Betsy DeVos have made their top education priority — and
pretty much their only one — the expansion of alternatives to traditional
public school districts, the ones that enroll the vast majority of American
students. They have repeatedly asked Congress to pass a $5 billion tax credit
program that would ultimately allow students to use public funding for private and
religious school tuition. In some bit of irony, Trump and DeVos pushed the
public schools that they have disparaged to open for the 2020-2021 school year,
and at one point threatened to withhold federal funding from those that did
not. (They didn’t have the power to withhold funding already approved by
Congress.) Biden, vice president under President Barack Obama and now the
Democratic presidential nominee, and his running mate, Sen. Kamala D. Harris
(D-Calif.), have both savaged the Trump-DeVos education agenda. And they have
said they would try to make the education system more equitable for underserved
students.
UC must immediately drop use of the SAT and ACT for
admissions and scholarships, judge rules
The University of California must immediately
suspend use of SAT or ACT test scores for admission and scholarship decisions,
an Alameda County Superior Court judge has ruled.
LA Times By TERESA
WATANABESTAFF WRITER SEP. 1,
2020 12:43 PM UPDATED 6:58 PM
The University of California must immediately
suspend all use of SAT and ACT test scores for admission and scholarship
decisions under a preliminary injunction issued by an Alameda County Superior
Court judge. The ruling came in a
lawsuit asserting that the use of
standardized test scores is broadly biased — and particularly detrimental to
students with disabilities who seek to take the test during the coronavirus
crisis. Superior Court Judge Brad Seligman said in his Monday ruling that
plaintiffs had shown sufficient cause to stop the tests for now because
applicants with disabilities had virtually no access to test-taking sites or
legally required accommodations during the COVID-19 pandemic. “The barriers
faced by students with disabilities have been greatly exacerbated by the
COVID-19 epidemic, which has disrupted test-taking locations, closed schools
and limited access to school counselors,” Seligman wrote. Seligman added that
little data existed to show whether the tests were even valid or reliable
indicators of their future college performance. He set a case
management conference for Sept. 29.
The injunction on the use of SAT and ACT
results will affect all California applicants to the UC system.
Pharoah Sanders - Hum Allah Hum Allah Hum Allah
Pharoah Sanders and Leon Thomas from the
album Jewels of Thought
YouTube 103,735
views •May 28, 2011 Runtime: 14:56
Blogger commentary:
Parents considering cyber charters due to COVID might not be
aware of their 20 year consistent track record of academic underperformance. As
those parents face an expected blitz of advertising by cybers, in order for
them to make a more informed decision, you might consider providing them with
some of the info listed below:
A June 2 paper from the highly respected Brookings Institution stated,
“We find the impact of attending a virtual charter on student achievement is
uniformly and profoundly negative,” and then went on to say that “there is no
evidence that virtual charter students improve in subsequent years.”
In 2016, the National Association of Charter School Authorizers,
National Alliance for Public Charter Schools, and the national charter lobbying
group 50CAN released a report on cyber charters that found that overall, cyber
students make no significant gains in math and less than half the gains in reading
compared with their peers in traditional public schools.
A Stanford University CREDO Study in 2015 found that cyber students on
average lost 72 days a year in reading and 180 days a year in math compared
with students in traditional public schools.
From 2005 through 2012 under the federal No Child Left
Behind Act, most Pennsylvania cybers never made “adequate yearly progress.”
Following NCLB, for all five years (2013-2017) that Pennsylvania’s School
Performance Profile system was in place, not one cyber charter ever achieved a
passing score of 70.
Under Pennsylvania’s current accountability system, the Future Ready PA Index, all 15 cyber charters that operated
2018-2019 have been identified for some level of support and improvement.
PA SCHOOLS WORK WEBINAR : Public School Advocacy in the
New Normal of a COVID-19 World; Tue, Sep 15, 2020 12:00 PM - 12:45 PM EDT
For the foreseeable future, COVID-19 is a part
of our everyday lives. More parents and community members than ever before have
engaged at the school district level as schools wrestled with their options for
reopening this fall. This conversation will be about continuing our advocacy
for public schools, and how the challenges districts are facing in the COVID-19
era are magnified by long-term inequities in our funding system and years of
lackluster financial support for public education from state government. So,
what can we do about it? Come find out
PSBA Fall Virtual Advocacy Day: OCT 8, 2020 • 8:00
AM - 5:00 PM
Sign up now for PSBA’s Virtual Advocacy Day this
fall!
All public school leaders are invited to join
us for our fall Virtual Advocacy Day on Thursday, October 8, 2020, via Zoom. We
need all of you to help strengthen our advocacy impact. The day will center
around contacting legislators to discuss critical issues affecting public education.
Registrants will receive the meeting invitation with a link to our fall Virtual
Advocacy Day website that contains talking points, a link to locate contact
information for your legislator and additional information to help you have a
successful day.
Cost: As a membership benefit, there is no
cost to register.
Registration: School directors can register
online now by logging in to myPSBA. If you
have questions about Virtual Advocacy Day, or need additional information,
contact Jamie.Zuvich@psba.org.
Save The Date: The PSBA 2020 Equity Summit is happening
virtually on October 13th.
Discover how to build a foundation for equity
in practice and policy.
Learn more: https://t.co/KQviB4TTOj
PASA-PSBA School Leadership Conference October 14-15
Virtual
Registration is now open for the first ever
virtual School Leadership Conference! Join us for all-new educational sessions,
dynamic speakers, exhibitors, and more! Visit the website for registration
information: https://t.co/QfinpBL69u #PASLC20 https://t.co/JYeRhJLUmZ
What to expect at this year’s School Leadership
Conference
POSTED ON AUGUST 31, 2020 IN PSBA
NEWS
At the 2020 PASA-PSBA School Leadership
Conference on October 14-15, you'll encounter the same high-quality experience
you've come to expect, via new virtual platform. Hear world-class speakers and
relevant educational sessions, and network with exhibitors and attendees — from
the comfort of your home or office on any internet-enabled device.
The virtual conference platform is accessible
via a unique link provided to each registrant about a week before conference.
No additional app downloads are required. The intuitive 3D interface is easy to
use and immersive — you'll feel like you're on location. Registrants will be
able to explore the space a day before conference starts. Highlights
include:
- Virtual
exhibit hall
- Interactive
lobby area and information desk
- Virtual
auditorium
- Digital
swag bag
- Scavenger
hunt
This year, conference is completely free
to attend! Be among the first 125 to register, and receive a special
pre-conference swag bag, sent to your home. Click here for
more information about how to register.
Adopt the resolution against racial inequity!
School boards are asked to adopt this
resolution supporting the development of an anti-racist climate. Once adopted,
share your resolution with your local community and submit a copy to PSBA.
Learn more: http://ow.ly/yJWA50B2R72
Adopt the 2020 PSBA resolution for charter school funding
reform
In this legislative session, PSBA has been
leading the charge with the Senate, House of Representatives and the Governor’s
Administration to push for positive charter reform. We’re now asking you to
join the campaign: Adopt the resolution: We’re asking all school
boards to adopt the 2020 resolution for charter school funding reform at your
next board meeting and submit it to your legislators and to PSBA.
292 PA school boards have adopted charter reform
resolutions
Charter school funding reform continues to be
a concern as over 290 school boards across the state have adopted a resolution
calling for legislators to enact significant reforms to the Charter School Law
to provide funding relief and ensure all schools are held to the same quality
and ethics standards. Now more than ever, there is a growing momentum from
school officials across the state to call for charter school funding reform.
Legislators are hearing loud and clear that school districts need relief from
the unfair funding system that results in school districts overpaying millions
of dollars to charter schools.
Know Your Facts on Funding and Charter Performance. Then Call
for Charter Change!
PSBA Charter Change Website:
The Network for Public Education Action Conference has been
rescheduled to April 24-25, 2021 at the Philadelphia Doubletree Hotel
Any comments contained herein are my comments, alone, and do not
necessarily reflect the opinions of any other person or organization that I may
be affiliated with.
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